Definition Of X And Y Graph - Cuemath

X and Y Graph

x and y graph also known as the x and y-axis are two important lines that make a graph. A graph consists of a horizontal axis and a vertical axis where data can be represented. A point can be described in a horizontal way or a vertical way, which can be easily understood using a graph. These horizontal and vertical lines or axis in a graph are the x-axis and y-axis respectively. Let us learn more about the x and y graph in math, the table, the charts, and solve a few examples to understand the concept better.

1.	Definition of X and Y Graph
2.	Difference Between X and Y-Axis Graph
3.	Graph an Equation on X and Y Graph
4.	Equation of Y-Axis
5.	Equation of X-Axis
6.	FAQs on X and Y Graph

Definition of X and Y Graph

A x and y graph can be defined by the two axes i.e. x-axis and the y-axis that form a coordinate plane for a graph. The horizontal axis is represented by the x-axis and the vertical axis is represented by the y-axis. The point where the x and y-axis intersect is known as the origin and is used as the reference point for the plane. The image below represents the coordinate plane with both axes.

The x-axis on the graph is also known as abscissa. The y-axis on the graph is also known as ordinate. Any point on the coordinate plane is well defined by an ordered pair where the ordered pair is written as (x-coordinate,y-coordinate) or (x,y), where x-coordinate represents a point on the x-axis or perpendicular distance from the y-axis and y-coordinate represents a point on the y-axis or perpendicular distance from the x-axis. An x and y graph has 4 quadrants i.e. each perpendicular line is one quadrant. The image below describes the x and y graph with both positive and negative coordinates.

For example: The population of a city from 2015 to 2020 is given in the X and Y graph table as:

Years	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020
People in Millions	1	1.5	2	2.5	3	3.5

To locate any point on the coordinate plane, we use an ordered pair where the ordered pair is written as (x-coordinate,y-coordinate) or (x, y), where x-coordinate represents a point on the x-axis or perpendicular distance from the y-axis and y-coordinate represents a point on the y-axis or perpendicular distance from the x-axis, therefore it is clear from above that x-axis comes first when writing the ordered pair to locate a point. We can see here that the location of each point on the graph is noted as an ordered pair where the x-axis or x-coordinate leads the y-axis or y-coordinate. Then to represent these points on the x and y chart, using years on the x-axis and the corresponding population on the y-axis as:

Difference Between X and Y-Axis Graph

The x and y graph consists of the x-axis and y-axis that form the coordinate plane of a graph where numbers are represented for comparison or even forming linear equations. There are many differences between the x-axis and y-axis even though it shares the same origin point. Let us see the differences:

x-axis of a graph	y-axis of a graph
It is a horizontal plane of a graph in a cartesian coordinate system that gives a numerical value at each point.	It is a vertical plane of a graph in a cartesian coordinate system that gives a numerical value at each point.
The x-axis is called abscissa.	The y-axis is called ordinate.
The variables on the x-axis represent the cause of the data.	The variables on the y-axis represent the effect of the cause of the data.
The numbers placed on the x-axis are called x-coordinates.	The numbers placed on the y-axis are called y-coordinates.
The x-axis is a horizontal line with 0 as the origin, positive numbers on the right, and negative numbers on the left.	The y-axis is drawn vertically from bottom to top with the same origin as the x-axis with positive numbers on top and negative numbers at the bottom.
The coordinates referring to the x-axis are written as (x, y).	The coordinates referring to the y-axis are written as (y, x).

Graph an Equation on X and Y Graph

On the x and y graph, a linear equation can be graphed showing the coordinates of both the x-axis and y-axis. In geometry, a linear equation can be graphed by using the x and y graph and it is represented as a straight line. Let us look at an example to understand this better:

Let's consider a linear equation y = 2x + 1. Now to graph this equation construct a table having two columns for values of x and y. Let us choose some values for the variable x and find the corresponding values for y. If x = 1, then y = 2 × 1 + 1 = 3. If x = 2, then y = 2 × 2 + 1 = 5 and son on. Here we are taking the values of just three points starting from 0. To draw the x and y-axis coordinate graph of the linear equation, we need to draw the x and y-axis grid table for at least two points.

x	y
0	1
1	3
2	5

Now draw the points on the graph where the values of x lie on x-axis and the corresponding values of y lie on y-axis. Then join the points with a straight line to draw the graph of the equation.

Equation of Y-Axis

Y-axis is the line where the values of x-coordinate are zero for all the values of y. Then the data points for the y-axis are: (0, -1), (0, 0.5), (0, 1), (0, 1.5). Therefore the equation of the y-axis is x = 0 and its graph on the x and y graph chart is shown below. If we substitute the value of x as 0 in the general equation y = mx + c, we can find the coordinates for y.

Equation of X-axis

X-axis is the line where the values of y-coordinate are zero for all the values of x. Then the data points for the x-axis are: (1,0), (-1.5, 0) Therefore the equation of the x-axis is y = 0, and its graph on the x and y graph chart is shown below. If we substitute the value of y as 0 in the general equation y = mx + c, we can find the coordinates for x.

Related Topics

Listed below are a few interesting topics that are related to the x and y graph, take a look.

• Introduction to Graphing
• Geometry
• Polar Coordinates